Columbia Memorial

Posted: Tue 5:47 PM, Feb 04, 2003&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Wed 12:09 PM, Feb 05, 2003

A day of tribute and remembrance in Houston as the seven heroes of the space shuttle Columbia are honored. President Bush led more than 17,000 NASA employees, astronaut family members and many thousands more mourners in a salute to Columbia's mission. The President declared during the ceremony that the space program will continue, as he believes the fallen astronauts would have wanted. A Navy bell rang out seven times during the ceremony, one for each of the astronauts. And there was also a "missing man" flyover by four jets.

Here in Colorado Springs, kids at West Middle School watched the memorial on TV. It stands to reason, even their classroom is a tribute to the space program. As they watched the memorial they wrote down their thoughts about the disaster and the deaths of the astronauts. Teachers say the disaster offers a unique teaching opportunity. They say they owe it to the seven astronauts to continue with the science they died for.

Meanwhile, NASA said teams have been dispatched to California and Arizona because of reports that pieces of the shuttle have been found there, far west of the original search area. This, comes only hours after search teams located the nose cone of the shuttle, partially buried in a wooded are in Texas. Members of the independent investigation board arrived in Nacogdoches, Texas, via helicopter to get a first-hand look at the debris scattered over the countryside.

An unmanned Russian cargo craft docked at the international space station, bringing vital fuel and food to the outpost and three crewmen suddenly cut off from a major supply line following the loss of the shuttle Columbia.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.